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State could save €80m a year in health costs if alcohol consumption halved

If Irish people halved their current alcohol consumption to the upper limit of recommended drinking levels, the health costs to the exchequer for hospital beds would drop by €80 million a year, according to newly-published research.

Prof Joe Barry, co-author of a study published in the Irish Medical Journal , was commenting on results showing the cost of hospital inpatient beds due to alcohol was more than €850 million over five years.